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HMRC extends consultation period for new tax legislation

Published on 18 Feb 2010 under category: legal

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has extended the consultation period for draft legislation on "deliberate wrongdoing" by tax advisors, after criticism from the tax industry body.

The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) welcomed the decision after claiming that the legislation appeared to penalise any tax advice that could result in a loss to the treasury, including advising customers on saving schemes.

At the time of the initial proposals, CIOT argued that the legislation affected anyone talking about taxes from tax advisors to the "man on the street".

Key criticisms were levelled at HMRC's broad definitions of "tax advice" and "tax agent".

Andrew Hubbard, the president of the organisation, said: "In our opinion, it (the legislation) would have been unworkable and would have created a very damaging rift between HMRC and tax advisers.

"We believe that the extension to the time limit will allow time for mature reflection and result in legislation which is properly targeted, effective and proportionate."

In particular, the organisation highlighted plans to withdraw proposals that would have prevented agents from attending hearings about their misconduct.

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